New York's new David Geffen Hall will open two years ahead of schedule and on budget, the Lincoln Centre has announced. Furthermore, the funding goal for the $550m project has been achieved.

While the exterior of the building remains, inside it the new auditorium – which serves as the home of the New York Philharmonic – has been re-thought, while the development will also create tens of thousands of square feet of new public space for wide cultural uses, including performance and community events, many of which will be free to the public.

How the new $550m David Geffen Hall will look (Image: Diamond Schmitt Architects)

Designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects, in collaboration with acoustician Paul Scarbrough of Akustiks and theatre designer Joshua Dachs of Fisher Dachs Associates, a key difference to the previous hall is that the number of seats will be reduced by 500 to 2,200, and the stage moved forward by 25 feet; according to the venue, this enables the seating to wrap around the stage and bring the entire audience 30 percent closer to the performers, while also improving the acoustics.

'Lincoln Center is a central piece of New York’s cultural heart and the new David Geffen Hall, complete with expanded public and community spaces, will make that heart beat even stronger,' said New York State Governor Kathy Hochul, who set the redevelopment in the context of New York's emergence from the past two pandemic years. 'New York’s comeback is just getting started and this project is a crucial part of that comeback, creating jobs and giving New Yorkers and visitors from across the globe the opportunity to experience world-class entertainment in a state-of-the-art venue.'

New York City Mayor Eric Adams described it as 'a cultural home for all New Yorkers.'

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